Investments and development

In 2018, a decision was made to start another phase of preparations for construction of a new CHP plant – EC Czechnica in Siechnice. The project includes construction of a CC Gas Unit with a total electrical power of 179 MWe and thermal power of approx. 163 MWt as well as a heat accumulator and four water and gas boilers with a total capacity of approx. 152 MWt. The new units are to replace the existing coal-fired plant.

On 23 June 2021, an agreement was concluded with a consortium consisting of Polimex Mostostal S.A. (Consortium Leader) and Polimex Energetyka sp. z o.o. (Consortium Partner) for the construction of a gas and steam CHP plant for Zespół Elektrociepłowni Wrocławskich KOGENERACJA S.A. in Siechnice (EC Czechnica 2).

The value of the contract for the construction of the heat and power plant (EPC contract) is PLN 1 159 180 000.00 net (i.e. PLN 1 425 791 400.00 thousand gross). The value of the contract for the provision of maintenance services (LTSA contract) is PLN 25 027 789.80 net and EUR 20 717 846.68 net, i.e. PLN 30 784 181.45 gross and EUR 25 482 951.42 gross. The total value of the contracts is approximately PLN 1 278 353 828.68 net, i.e. PLN 1 572 375 209.28 gross (at the average EUR exchange rate as of 21 June 2021) (Current Report 11/2021).

The Company secures the increase in the value of the agreeement for the EC Czechnica 2 project from the following sources:

• financing in the form of subsidies – PLN 30 million;
• financing in the form of preferential loans – PLN 350 million;
• own funds and financing from PGE Group.

In accordance with the provisions of the contract, the Company made an advance payment of PLN 142 million to the contractor (20 August 2021), representing 10% of the contractual remuneration. As at 31 December 2024, the total capital expenditure under the contract with the Consortium was PLN 1 095 million.

As part of the transformation of generating assets and decarbonisation of heat and electricity generation sources at EC Wrocław, it is planned to install gas-fired cogeneration units and water boilers, as well as heat pumps, electrode water boilers and a heat accumulator. 

In 2024, KOGENERACJA S.A. submitted a request to the Wrocław City Office for issuing an environmental decision and initiated procedures to obtain the necessary corporate approvals from the PGE Group. The schedule of the Wrocław Investment Project for 2025 provides for the Company’s participation in the CHP auction for producers of electricity from high-efficiency cogeneration in order to obtain support in the form of a guarantee bonus for the planned cogeneration units at EC Wrocław and obtaining an environmental decision for the first stage of the investment and signing an agreement with the General Designer.

The implementation of the Wrocław Investment Project will not only have a positive impact on the natural environment, but will also guarantee energy security for the residents of the city of Wrocław.

A necessary condition for ensuring the security of heat consumers are also investments by the heat distributor in Wrocław in the development of the municipal heating network, due to the complementary nature of the heat generation and distribution areas.

Both KOGENERACJA S.A. and EC Zielona Góra S.A. deliver external investments with regard to new connections to the municipal heating network of Wrocław and the Siechnice municipality (Siechnice and Św. Katarzyna) and in Zielona Góra, respectively. These investments are aimed at increasing the heat market and result from the strategic goals of the companies.

In 2024, new consumers were connected to the heating network and a total power of 13.57 MW_t (vs 11.44 MW_t in 2023):

• 6.52 MW_t 5.17 MW_t in Wrocław and the Siechnice municipality – 48 heating nodes. Additionally, projects with a total capacity of 1.35 MW_t were implemented together with the distributor through the implementation of sales intensification agreements;
• 7.05 MW_t in Zielona Góra – 27 facilities and 5 hot water preparation modules.
• construction of a 375 kW cooling plant at the University Hospital in Zielona Góra.

Work is underway on the concept of constructing a 50 MW energy storage facility with a capacity of 200 MWh, and an application has been submitted for the connection conditions of the subsidiary's storage facility to the 110 kV power grid of Enea Operator. The connection is to provide emergency power supply for the city of Zielona Góra in the event of emergency and planned outages in the power grid. Meanwhile, the construction of a 50 MW energy storage facility will enable the company to shift its own consumption in time and enable the launch of a CC Gas Unit during sudden failures.